23 remand prisoners discharge at Nsawam Prison

Twenty-Three prisoners remanded for years at the Nsawam Prison in the Greater Accra Region were on Friday discharge unconditionally after six courts had heard their cases under the ‘Justice for All’ programme.

Out of the 61 cases heard, 23 applicants were discharged, 29 granted bail and 9 cases adjourned to continue trial.

The suspects have spent between four and nine years on remand for various crimes, including murder, armed robbery, stealing, rape, fraud, and drug-related cases.

The six courts were presided over by six high court judges, Justice Clemence Honyenuga, Justice Mustapha Logo, Justice Barbara Tetteh-Charway, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare, Justice Abdullah Iddrisu and Justice Constant Hometowu.

The “Justice for All” was initiated by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and the Ghana Prisons Service to ensure that justice is provided for every citizen, irrespective of one’s background and help decongest the prisons.

Justice Honyenuga, Chairman for the Justice for All Programme, explained that the project was being implemented across the country to decongest the prisons and ensure justice for all inmates who had been on remand for more than four years awaiting trial.

He said the Chief Justice has set up a training programme for judges in all the regions to appreciate the plight of remand prisoners in the country and review cases which were not in line with the constitution.

Justice Honyenuga expressed concern that many of the remand prisoners were being held in the prisons on expired warrants of commitment.

Mr Sylvester Rabbles, Deputy Director of the Nsawam Prison, commended the Attorney General’s department and stakeholders involve in the project for a successful exercise.

He stressed that their outfit would liaise with the police to take photographs and fingerprint impressions of the discharge prisoners before they were fully released, while those on bail would be contacted by their relatives to assist the police to process their bail document.

Mr Rabbles appealed to the public to welcome the release inmates to reintegrate into the society since some of them were rejected and they end up indulging in criminal activities.

Mr George Kwabena Apeaning, a released prisoner, said he was arrested and accused of committing robbery and has been on remand for nine years without trial.

“I am excited to be discharge, i feel like I’m celebrating my birthday, it is tears of joy for me, I really missed my wife and two children” he added.

Mr Apeaning said he went through Bible course while in prison, and hope to impacts the lessons he learnt to the society.